According to BanTheBottle.net, “In 2007, Americans consumed over 50 billion single serve bottles of water.” Most of the these ended up in landfills. According to the Clean Air Council, only 7.1% of all plastic used was recycled in 2008. That is a lot of space being taken up in valuable landfill space. Just think about how many times a day you use a single use plastic bottle. Are you taking the time to drop that bottle in a recycling bin?
Even better would be to cut down on this unnecessary use of plastic by investing in a water filter and a reusable water bottle. Can you think of other ways to reduce your plastic use?

With Earth Day on April 28th, we encourage you to look at the big and small ways you help the environment. Throughout the month of April, the Gastonia Conference Center is sharing sharing tips and tricks on the actions we can all take to be more eco-friendly. We are also sharing the way the Gastonia Conference Center incorporates green initiatives into our building, our work, and events. We would love to hear your methods and stories related to sustainability and the environment as well.
Throughout April we encourage you to share your “Green Story.” How does your business or your family encourage and promote eco-friendly practices? Get creative with your story! Stories can be the written word, art, photos, videos or a creative combination. This is an excellent chance to share your story with a larger audience and to inspire others to challenge themselves in considering their environmental impact.
The deadline for submissions is Friday, April 27th. The winner will be revealed on Earth Day, Saturday, April 28th during the Earth Day Celebration at our booth at the Schiele Museum in Gastonia. The most creative and exciting entry will win a free meeting/event space for up to 25 people at the Gastonia Conference Center. The winning entry will also be shared on our website and across social media outlets on Earth Day. The runner-up entries will be featured the week following Earth Day as a reminder that everyday is earth day.
Submit your stories to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it before Friday, April 27th.

Pick one day and week and unplug yourself from the computer, your social networks, and more. Unplugging can save a fair amount of energy, but more importantly it can help you to truly connect with your life and purpose. In fact, March 20th has been deemed the National Day of Unplugging. There are scores of very successful people that are now scheduling unplugged hours, days, and even weeks in order to reconnect with their actual rather than virtual lives. So pick an hour or a day and unplug. Take time to stop and smell the roses.

Have you ever actually visited a landfill site? It is a true wasteland. You will see plastic bags floating and flying through the air. “Plastic bags do not biodegrade. Light breaks them down into smaller and smaller particles that contaminate the soil and water and are expensive and difficult to remove. When the small particles from photodegraded plastic bags get into the water, they are ingested by filter feeding marine animals. Biotoxins like PCBs that are in the particles are then passed up the food chain, including up to humans.” (quoted from The Clean Air Council’s Waste and Recycling Facts)
The Bottom Line:
Plastic bags are cheap to make and buy which is why groceries and other big stores use them, but the downside is the cost of recycling the bags is far more expensive than the creation of new bags. Ultimately this means more waste in landfills. Cleanair.org estimates Americans use 1 million shopping bags a year which is the equivalent of “300,000 tons of landfill waste.” For the average taxpayer this means you are helping to pay for the disposal cost of these bags. “The state of California spends about 25 million dollars sending plastic bags to landfill each year, and another 8.5 million dollars to remove littered bags from streets.” (Clean Air Council)
What can you do?
First recycle all of the plastic bags you use. Next make a concerted effort to request paper bags or use your own reusable bags when shopping. If you really want to make a difference talk to people you know and spread the word on the dangers of plastic bags in our environment. In 2010, plastic bags were outlawed in three counties in North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Talk to your local representatives about the implications of outlawing plastic bags in your area. Let’s start a conversation about this seemingly “no big deal” issue.
Read more:
Waste and Recycling Facts by the Clean Air Council
The Great Plastic Bag Plague
Plastic bags outlawed at all Outer Banks stores